Who’s responsible? Teleplay is credited to series mastermind Vince Gilligan.

What says AMC? “As Walt deals with the aftermath of the Casa Tranquila explosion, Hank works to wrap up his investigation of Gus' empire.”

Does Giancarlo Esposito’s character appear in flashback this week? He does not.

What about “Better Call” Saul Goodman and ex-cop/Fring henchman Mike Ehrmantraut? Are they gone for good? Bob Odenkirk and Jonathan Banks are listed in the opening credits and seen in new promo footage for season five. So they're definitely back.

How does it start? Not where season four ended. Need more? There’s a shot from this season’s first scene embedded in that Comic Con trailer above.

The big news? An “act of God” provides one of the episode’s bigger surprises.

What else is AMC not telling us? An actor we’ve seen on “Breaking Bad” before (and who got a lot of work on “Justified” last season) returns for this season’s first scene. Betsy Brandt is listed in the opening credits but doesn’t return as Marie Schrader until this season’s third episode.

What’s great? The momentum that resumes early on with the words “Oh shit.” The surprises. Mike Ehrmantraut. Jesse Pinkman’s big idea. Walter White, who’s now essentially a Lex Luthor-y criminal superscientist, demonstrating he knows physics as well as chemistry. Walt’s scene with Saul.

What’s not so great? Dean Norris cracked me up with his Hank Schrader performance in the second episode, but you don’t get to see that until next week.

How does the season premiere end, spoiler boy? One character forgives another.

I'm just now getting up to speed with BB. I'm in the middle of season 3. It's a great, GREAT show. Here's my question:
I'm very tempted to watch the 5th season premier tonight, or should I wait and get FULLY caught up and catch season 5 at a later time?
I need to know waht to do. Seriously.

Nope, man. You've got to watch Season 4. With another show, maybe you could skip over like that but with the things that happen in season 4, you need to see them without knowing what comes after. It's got the biggest surprises and craziest action of all the seasons so you wouldn't be seeing Breaking Bad at its full greatness if you missed out on experiencing that.

I'm really interested in seeing Mike's reaction to hearing Walter murdered Gus...if Mike is indeed in this episode. Should be equally intense and hilarious.
Also, my girlfriends sister said she gave up during season 3 because the show was too predictable. Too predictable! How absurd is that? My girlfriend luckily stopped me before I went into a full geek rage.

jere burns. but it would be awesome if it was jim beaver. i cannot wait for this premiere. ive been rewatching all 4 seasons, and i still have the last 3 episodes of season 4 to go through. cant wait to watch those and then the premiere!

Of course you should watch it. That's the way the producers and writers intended this show to be watched. While filming the last season to this amazing show, they were thinking along the lines "We're going to film this season with the the hopes that people not fully caught up skip two seasons and start watching now."
Come on, have some common sense. Why on earth would you spoil this show for yourself by skipping a few seasons?

Three and a half weeks ago, I finally decided to see what the online fuss was about and watch the first episode of season 1. <p>
I am 30 years old. I have never been so compelled by a show. I watched all four seasons in about two weeks and it was an absolute joy. The random yet not contrived scenes of characters just enjoying themselves. The logical deductions made by characters in one episode that other shows would dance around for a whole season and cocktease the audience with. A show unafraid to go absolutely balls to the wall mid-season (the episode 'One Minute' had me fucking on my knees). An adult show in the truest sense - it isn't the violence, or language, or dirty bits:- it just doesn't treat the viewer like an idiot, and that is so rare. <p>
So many highlights of this show, it is with trepidation that I now have to watch it one show at a time with a week between them. <p>
It can't maintain this quality rate. Can it? Even if there is a dip in quality between now and the finale, this show truely has been exceptional. However in some ways I hope they stick to the plan - sixteen more glorious episodes and go out in style. No extra seasons tacked on. And no movie, tempting though it is.

No way you can start watching season 5 now. You are in the best possible position! The worst part about a TV show like this is the wait between episodes/seasons... you can just watch at your leisure. Plus, you shouldn't have a problem getting caught up so that you can watch the series finale live and avoid having the ending spoiled for you.

It's not even the dragging out of stories - its a show where progress is made constantly and the characters develop. <p>
I remember being impressed (I can't remember exactly when it occured) when Sky pretty much confronted Walt and nailed him for being a drug dealer, and gave a list of examples to how she'd reached that conclusion. Logical reasons. Suspicions. The second cell phone et al. Other shows just wouldn't do that. They'd keep the status quo. One of my main bugbears with shows like Dexter, is nothings ultimately happened in six years. Sure Rita's died, but apart from an episode or two of grief, normal business resumed and the characters all reset. <p>
If I tried to sell BB to someone (I'd fail because I'm crap), but I'd say: Things matter. Stories have consequences and it is unpredictable. Even characters like Hank, who I thought would grate after the second or third season, are utterly compulsive. When watching Hank or even Skylar, I'm not thinking "Damn, this is filler. When are Walt and Jessie going to show up". Hanks obsession with minerals last year. The wheelchair and the bell. The fly!! The band who did an amazingly bonkers non dubbed song at the start of an episode in season 2. The pizza on the roof?!??! <p>
So SO many threads, strands and moments that are memorable without ever going for the obvious or easy hits. <p>

the death of Gus. It was exceptionally well done. OTT with the final reveal, but made complete tonal sense. <p>
With other shows they'd try and be clever and hide the fact the bad guy was going to die right up until the end. This show fucking revelled in it. The second Gus stepped out of the car and the camera followed him with a full on EPIC Western showdown music, you knew he was a goner but christ it gave him a great send-off. Truely an awesome 'bad' guy, that was sympathetic in part coupled with sinister / evil / non-cliched gangster approach. <p>
What other shows can you say genuinely gave antagonists such room to breathe, be so open to interpretation and so contrasting (being shit scared of him threatening Walts family in the desert to cheering him on when he, Mike and Jesse took out the cartel). Also in terms of the length of the scenes - never afraid to do long scenes and characters having a genuine back and forth. Not just banter like most shows - an actual natural conversation...<p>
In that last regard, going from Breaking Bad to virtually anything else modern makes them all seem ADD ridden that can't focus on one shot or character for more than five seconds without panning to something else or cutting away after 'hip dialogue scene number 392'. <p>
If I could travel to next year or further and bring back one piece of media - Dark Knight Rises Blu? Nope. Man Of Steel Blu? Nope. Avengers sequel or Iron Man 3 - not a chance. Breaking Bad Season 5 Complete...Lets Talk.

i had only ever seen bits and pieces of season 1 and 2 when I had cable. didn't have tivo or anything, just caught it when i could.
we basically spent a weekend spooning on the couch watching the first three seasons...
I NEVER do that with TV...but such is the power of this show.
so it's killing me that we don't have cable, that I missed season 4 and that season 5 is starting.
I watched those clips and was not surprised to be spoiled by things I knew would happen- but now I'm just intrigued about what happened in season 4 besides the obvious death(s) that are apparent in those s5 clips.
fuck. I guess I will have to go buy season 4, watch it, and then return it for store credit or something....just to catch up. wal-mart?

My wife and I are in the midst of an all-day Season 4 marathon, just to refresh ourselves on everything that happened. By the time Breaking Bad has finished it's run I've no doubt that it will go down as THE single greatest thing to ever be on television.

I was watching season one of Six Feet Under last night and saw Dean Norris as a cop interrogating nate.
I'm hoping for Jim Beaver. Dude actually went on hitfix and discussed deadwood with the commenters there.

The manager of the real restaurant where they film Los Pollos told me that the production company told him that they may be coming back to film more in there in the final 8 episodes. We have not heard the last of Los Pollos. Amazingly, the very few people who worked there had even seen a single episode of the show. That blew my mind. I think that
Gus' laptop, which he was watching security video on before he went to see Tio, and which he left on his desk at Los Pollos, is going to figure in.

he played one of the meth addicts jesse and mike staked out. not the one digging but the one with the shotgun.
also superseantnt i still think the wire beats breaking bad as best show ever. if you havent seen it you should check it out

Without sparking up this debate for the 100,784th time, I just wanted to say
I think acknowledging that Breaking bad, Mad Men, Sopranos, the Wire, Deadwood are the 5 best, in some order, is enough. Once you're there it's a matter of opinion.
I know the Wire is brilliant and it's really more socially important than any other fictional TV series, but for me, nothing will ever top Sopranos. I've seen the entire series 3 times, I like it better than any TV show or movie, and nothing will probably top it.
And Breaking Bad is a close second.
But all those shows I mentioned are fucking amazing, so if someone had the Wire or Breaking Bad as their G.O.A.T., I couldn't disagree.

wire, bb, sopranos and mad men are definently my top four. however i have only seen the first season of deadwood, and i know im gonna get shit for saying this, but it really hasnt lived up to the hype imho. i love al swearengen, but so far i don't really care that much for any of the other characters. its good, but right now im watching brotherhood which i like better, and i really want to start the shield when i finish that. does deadwood improve dramatically after the first season or am i just missing the point? i definently want to keep watching at some point, but am i better off catching up on shows like the shield, twin peaks and the west wing first if im not that crazy about deadwood so far?

I've stopped even bothering to check the netflix page for new arrivals, since for the past 6 months the top of the "new arrivals" list has been Limitless and The Last Airbender. Why do I subscribe to them again?

Great episode, I fucking love Jesse. I am really curious as to how the season will play out. I have in my head how I think that the show should end, but I doubt that will be the way it ends. I am damn sure going to love the ride though.
Also, how many weight swings is Anna Gunn going to have? She was heavier during season 4 and now she's back to looking around the same as she did middle of season 3, even though this is supposed to take place immediately after season 4 ended.
Finally, there are way too many coincidences starting to pile up for Hank not to at least suspect Walt. First, the supplies get stolen from Walt's school, then the large sum of money Walt acquires from "Gambling," Walt's brilliant "insight" into the Gale murder, Walt being reluctant to bug Gus' car, Walt purposefully getting into a wreck when Hank wanted to check out the laundry service, Walt refusing to go with the family when Hank had the hit called out on him and then Gus Fring blows up, and not to mention that Hank had never heard of Jesse Pinkman until Walt "bought pot from him" and now every time something comes up with the meth and the DEA gets involved Jesse is confronted about it. Badger and Combo rolled pretty deep with Jesse, I'm sure the DEA or APD would have happened to come across that in their investigation, especially since Combo had a picture of Jesse and him in his room. Then with the whole magnet thing Hank should be able to start wondering hey, someone obviously didn't want us to see what was on this laptop, probably the same people who burnt down the meth lab, and Walter got into the car wreck, something seems off.
Sorry for the rambling, but just thoughts I picked up from the most recent rewatch. I'm not dogging on the show, it's just Hank has always seemed to be portrayed as a somewhat smarter character and with his obsession with the Blue Meth it should start coming together.

...Walt, in the future, is returning to New Mexico (from an exodus in New Hampshire) with plans to go to war with someone. New name, new car, an assault rifle in the trunk. I wonder if things come unraveled between now and the series' end, and the people he's going to war with are Jesse and Mike.

That junkyard scene was great. It also featured not one, but two guys from Armed and Dangerous.
It's been a long wait. Thank Glob this show is back.
Did anyone else catch Bryan Cranston on Letterman? He gave bags of blue shit to Paul and Dave, then agreed that the first one is only free to hook the kids.

Spoiler!!!
Holy shit what great ending. I wonder if Ted will be picked off by Walt later on in the season. There wasn't a single scene that contradicted earlier character motivations. Loved it! And I have to agree with the earlier poster who said Hank is going to suspect Walt at some point (probably because of the broken picture frame by virtue of the industrial magnet and Walt's hubris in leaving the evidence). Furthermore, what is the deal with the first scene? Future? I thought Walt was 50 going on 51.

Yeah bob loblaw law blog's right, there was a routing # below the Caymans designation as well. Gus had a female associate handling the money laundering via offshore account/s. She will be coming to the ABQ vicinity soon ...

Yeah most likely that's the case - but then again, if Walt is using a fake ID whose to say that isn't also a fake age?
In which case the supposed 2 year future 'flash forward' may actually only be a few months down the line, in which case he's grown his hair back in or it's a wig) and the world has apparently gone to shit for him.
Just throwing that out there because with this show things aren't always what they seem.
That over-thinking aside, brilliant fucking episode....I'm sure the final season, even broken in 2, will kick all kinds of ass.

I think it was his real 52 birthday. The bacon was a call back to the first episode. Skyler put a 50 of facon on his eggs at the beginning.
Tonight was an unbelievable comeback. Too many great moments to list but Jessie had the best line with Yeah, magnets bitch!, and Walt was just plain terrifying at the end. Sadly, there are six white knuckle days till the next episode.

agreed - as I said that's likely the case and I'm just over thinking things, lol.
I can't wait for next week either....plus fucking MIKE is back!
I recently went through the entire series again - seeing this new episode was awesome.
Being a long time fan of this show pays off big-time.

Which is a stupid thing to say, considering the craft and the effort that goes into this extraordinary show - but it just whirrs and purrs along dragging us up, down and sideways if it wants to. Mike, the universal symbol for keys and the Dave Clark Five reference. PMA in the junkyard. Lovely time-lapse work. The photography. Ted's shame. Hank in the blasted lab. Teeth and popcorn. Skylar's fear. And Saul's. Walt, Walt, Walt - where have you brought us to? Where else are we going? Still one of the quickest and most compelling hours (actually 42 minutes) of TV there is.

so Saul took the poison cigg from Jesse or had his henchmen with the chubby fingers snatch it, does Saul know Walt poisoned the kid with the backyard plant, I can't word my question right. Gus's picture frame had a letter in it, letter from his close friend about how they where really close? So to Walter anyone is game now to kill I think. If the 52 bacon is like the facon 50 from the first season does Walter kill Skylar even? He is straight up gangster now and he hugged her and forgave her. If I learned anything from gangster shows/ movies being forgiven is what happens before you are whacked. When Jesse finds out about Walt he could be a goner or Hank could get too close to catching Dr Hiesenberg or the people Gus worked for come after Walter, shit the next 7 weeks will be awesome! How are they gonna start cooking meth again, making money?

Cranston was great on Letterman, then you see how good an actor he is because he seemed nice on Dave but creepy on BB. I liked the serial killer plot on the Wire, I thought it was a satire on Dexter, and the media, like the bath salts zombie, guy wasn't on bath salts and the CDC issued a notice that there are no zombies. On season 5 of the wire the town is afraid of a serial killer when it isn't what they think, but no one cares about the real drug gang killing.

With 3 comments about it i just have to say... It sucked. Well i enjoyed it up til the end and the last episode ruined the whole series for me. I still have nightmares about that.
Seriously the villian of the last season just leaves town and that's how it climax'ed? Also they just murder some poor whore and the super moral, unbendable sheriff just goes along with it?
100x worse ending then the Sopranos.

Any one else catch that line? This had to have been filmed and written months before any formal announcement of the Higgs Boson which was only hinted at having been found back in December. More evidence this group of writers is amongst the smartest out there.

Fuck it, your guys' dumb bullshit isn't even worth addressing. I don't know what show you all are watching, Lost 2: Return of the Writers Who Would Actually Write Some of the Stupid Shit You Guys Suggest?

Any scene with Hank is cool. I thought how he defended ladder as if he was stepping on Moon in a space suit from Apollo 11 was cool. On small step from Mankind into shit. Dean Norris is amazing in this series and I thought he deserved the Emmy in season 3. He was the best actor that season and stepped his game up from season 2 in astonishing fashion.

it was too good. that opening scene was so brilliant. revealed so much but so little at the same time. love it. usually i dont like it when shows/movies start with a scene at the end, but breaking bad does it so god damn well. the opening scene to the pilot definently ranks in my top 5 scenes of all time.
also did anyone see the promo for next week? looks so awesome!

...just because Walt said his birthday was 52 in the opening scene. The waitress said "Happy Birthday Mr. Lambert," meaning that Walt had a fake ID and it didn't have to be his real birthday or real age.
But thanks for calling everyone else stupid even though you didn't get that.

number in the fringes of the photo. No doubt a lead Hank will follow.
The junkyard scene was great; the Constitutional-lawyer junk man, Prince Alberts, and magnets.
A solid season opener. No shocks. Business as usual. Anna Gunn loses her baby fat.

I'm sure you are right. It's just damn, I can't wait for the inevitable confrontation between Hank and Walt. There are only so many times one can say, oh he couldn't be connected to all of these events, those were just coincidences. Then you're approaching Spider-man identity territory "god, why does Peter run away Everytime trouble comes up? He's such a wuss, thank god Spider-man just showed up after Peter ran away."

The past four seasons have literally been one year since Walt turned 50. So episode #504 would simply be the literal beginning of the next year of Walt's Life. Consequently, I would contend they covered about 8 months in four seasons, and will not cover about 3-4 months in 4 episodes.
I wonder if Mike initially and reluctantly signs on to the new Meth business, with that caveat that he has no intention of being around for the boom.
I also wonder if we'll meet Fring's progeny, or German investors. My gut says those could easily be the people Walt will have to hunt, besides Jesse and/or Mike.
Btw, I'm a big fan of villainy, so Walt's got my undying support no matter what kind of shit he pulls.
Just putting it out there.

I'm guessing by the time that scene plays out, everyone around Walt will have either been killed (probably by Walt himself) or have run away from him (Sklyer and Walt Jr) and Walt has 52 directions in which to go.

Up there with Tony Soprano for me…maybe even more fascinating in some key ways.
I haven’t read much analysis of Breaking Bad, so what I’m about to write may be old hat. But I think that Heisenberg is closer to the real man than ‘Walter White’ ever was – Heisenberg was there all along, just submerged behind the veneer of the mild-mannered chemistry teacher and family man.
We know something derailed his chemistry career, but unless I’m forgetting something, we haven’t really seen what yet, what sent him down the path of underpaid high school teacher while his colleagues and classmates prospered, became wealthy…my guess is that whatever specific incident or incidents sent him that way, the true cause was the latent Heisenberg working his way to the fore.
The capacity was always there, but it took cancer and then exposure to the ruthless world of meth dealing for his true nature to be fully revealed.
A lot of people point to the “I am the one who knocks” speech as huge point in the course of the show, but I think the bigger scene is in “Hermanos” from S4, while he is in the waiting room with the other cancer patient. The guy says “man plans, God laughs,” and Walter’s response is so great – he talks about living with cancer, about how one day he knows he’ll get bad news – “but until that day, I’m in charge.” Awesome. Just fascinating stuff.

In the Second Season, when we meet Elliot and Gretchen, we learn some emotional hints at what happened to derail Walter White's Career.
Elliot and Walt had been partners together, and Walt had been dating and researching with Gretchen.
An act of unexplained Hubris on Walt's part - it was hinted that it involved his disdain of Gretchen being a 'rich girl' - ended the relationship with Gretchen. And somehow he must have decided at the same time to distance himself from Elliot and the startup that would become Gray Matter.
When Skylar meets him, he's working as a low paid chemist at some corporate factory in the California scrub land (I think). So he was on a downward spiral, but HS chemistry felt probably like a better job than factory work. Here he could mold minds, and dazzle them with his alchemical sorcery.
So that's my take on it.
I should seriously consider writing some of these things down as a piece of critical research.
And if someone else wants to do it, go right ahead...

could be a reference to 52 pickup. with every card in the deck being scattered and walt trying to reassemble his life.
could be a reference to a few police codes, where a 10-52 or a 052 is: Resuscitator is needed, Audible alarm, Ethics Code.
and we definitely know from the opening scene: it's walt's birthday, his back is against the wall, he's changed his appearance, possibly to hid while on the run or from someone, he's taking medication - to stay awake? for pain? for cancer? we don't know, we only know that means walt wants to stay alive for the time being, so he's not buying the gun to commit suicide by cop or someone else.
implies walt is about to get his hands dirty vs someone heavily armored (witness protection?) or someone skilled (like mike or a cartel). maybe walt is heading to kill ted in witness protection?
jesse and mike are no place to be seen. nor skylar.

I don't think Hank will die until maybe the end, if at all. It's obviously going to be Walt vs. Hank in a showdown throughout the rest of the series. I think it's a possibility that Jesse gets killed. I think that it's obvious somebody dies as a result of Walt's actions by the end of the break. We will see. It will be very interesting...

10. Lost (would be number 1 for me if it ended at Season 3)
9. Law & Order
8. Six Feet Under
7. The Wire
6. Boardwalk Empire (even though I won't watch it anymore)
5. Dexter
4. 24 (despite killing all good characters)
3. Breaking Bad (potential to be number 1, depending how it ends)
2. Star Trek: The Next Generation
1. Two And A Half Men (just kidding)
REAL 1. The Sopranos (despite the ending and weak first half of Season 6)

Walt is becoming more and more arrogant and confident in his intelligence and newfound power.
However, THEN, they juxtapose with 1 year later where we see a pretty broken Walt who seems to be back into the end of season 4's fighting for his life mode...except much more war-weary and also much more capable and canny than he was end of season 4. The tipping of the $100 bill to the waitress that showed him a kindness was a wonderful indication that Walt is still a good man underneath the bad (or is it a bad man underneath the good?) even though it seems "present day" he is going pretty dark.
Can't WAIT!

a kind of potential farewell. It's just a $100 when is probably pretty wealthy so it shows he is not giving up hope, but his mood and his obviously feeling touched by the waitress' kindness moved him to make a kind of final gesture of kindness before going on what could still very well be a suicide mission.
Can't wait to see how we get there!

(Spoilers to follow if you're not up to date)
Everyone seems to think this is gonna come down to a stand-off between Hank and Walt, but don't forget... Walt has now killed one and poisoned another of the most important people Jesse has probably ever had in his life. Now that Walt has seemingly embraced the self-importance that he always had and never let out, there's a good chance his hubris will cause him to miss a beat and let at least one of those secrets slip.
I'm sure Hank will be involved... afterall, he's a man with a mission now, and he's been shown to be a good detective when he sets his mind to it. But, I think the gun in the trunk is for Jesse... Maybe he learns the truth about just how much Walt has fucked with him and decides to settle his differences with Hank enough to turn state's witness?

The dark heart and potential that lurks in all seemingly mild-mannered 'good' guys armed with a bit of knowledge and the fear of an 'end'. 'I am awake' indeed. <p>
Walts speech to his class in the initial episodes of Season 1, about the nature of chemistry and the states of change elements go through when introduced to new situations and forces was an excellent manifesto and the show laying out its stall. Sure people can pick flaws in pretty much anything, and I could probably identify the odd blip haters may focus on, but to them I'd smack them in the mouth :) <p>
Sod an episode of Jesse and Walt cooking, I could watch a full 45 minutes of Walt just teaching Chemistry such is a testament to the writers and Cranston. The lack of large activity and response to Breaking Bad TB's frustrates in the sense that running over AICN are little whiney bitches bemoaning the lack of gripping and unique television, yet letting Breaking Bad go unwatched. <p>
I cannot recommend this show enough.

Spoilers to follow:
The teaser scene alone makes me think that Walt is all by himself now.There is no Jesse. There is no Mike. It's just Walt. And Walt took a major fall from grace. He went from "Because I said so" and "We're done when I say we're done" to buying a freaking M40 Bravo. I can only assume that Walt is extracting revenge. On whom though? Is it Mike and Jesse? Is it some unknown entity? Is it Hank and the DEA? In my opinion, it's an unknown entity. I do think because of the fake ID that Walt has been discovered and is in hiding. I think his family is long gone. I think Jesse and Mike hit the bricks a long time ago too. Mike is going to be the voice of reason for Jesse. He doesn't like Walt at all, and will not listen to him for much longer. He will turn Jesse against Walt because they now have that father/son relationship. I personally think that now that Walt has no one left in his life, and he messed everything up, he is there to buy that gun to extract his revenge and go out in a blaze of glory. That 100 dollar tip was his last good thing he could do before his inevitable death.

Aren't getting split apart any time soon. Jesse feels really bad for almost killing Walt for something he "didn't" do (although of course he did.) It's going to take a lot to drive them apart, and I don't see it happening any time soon.
This episode had such a great Season 1 feel to it, such fun energy, but with a much more bad ass Walt, a smarter, more mature Jesse, and of course Mike along for the fun. I hope they keep this tone all season. Season 4 was good, but was just no fun.

walt is tossed in a half lit prison cell as the door slams shut for where he'll spend the rest of his life. he stares at half dark corner, partially revealing the bunk beds. then Vern Schillinger sits up from his bunk, out of the shadows, and smiles.
fade to black.

So I too agree that the cold opening for Live Free or Die figures into the final episode.
Reminds me of Season 2, when all the cold openings tied into that Final Episode when the planes crashed over ABQ.
Does anyone else get the sense the cold openings for this season will relate to the prep for this final Suicide mission?

Have to agree, Sunday evening is dedicated to tv. My night usually ends with tron uprising or a second replay of bb. Between BB, True blood, leverage, falling skies, every hour after 8 is filled with a mix of great drama and fun tv.
Continuum is on the list but sadly in the US those torrents are tough to come by. The first few episodes I did happen to watch were pretty compelling.
As for season 5 speculation, I have no clue. Clearly Walt used saul's contact to 'disappear', but for some reason was compelled to come back to handle a loose end. I'm sure witness protection is not an option for Walt. It could be anyone- although I'd lean towards Saul - think back to saul's safe and the cassettes he stored within. Not to mention how much he knows about Walt poisoning Brock, I could see him letting it slip to mike.
But who knows, I'm just enjoying the ride.

Ultimately, I think Walt will be killed by his cancer. And he will be absolutely alone. I think Jesse will find out about Jane and the poisoning of Brock, and he'll come so so close to killing Walt. But the whole series has been about Walt's descent, and simultanteously about Jesse trying to break free of this life. I think he'll decide to just leave Walt alone to die.
Also, I'd love it if Walt died sitting out by his pool throwing matches into the water...

He's not going out in a blaze of glory or going to war with a big ass gun. Not Walt's style. What's he's doing is...he's on a long con again, like he did with the berries to get rid of Gus.
He is going out of his way to be recognized and remembered with the fake name, birthday, and $100 tip. Also, Jim Beaver says don't bring it across the border. Why? What would he care? Well, they never say they're in ABQ in the cold open. I don't think he cares about the gun LEAVING the state, he just doesn't want it coming back INTO New Mexico. He doesn't want whatever shit Walt has planned happening there. Walt says it's a 30 hour drive from New Hampshire. ABQ is 40. 30 would put you around Oklahoma City.
I think Walt is planning some crazy terrorist-level shit in Oklahoma City to either frame or blame the upcoming Madrigal big bads.

he must betray Jesse one more time. I think that Walt will either kill Jesse or do something almost as bad to him before everything is said and done. The kid is practically a son to him, and there is no way that the writers won't exploit the emotional connection between the two of them in order to take this show to an even darker place than it's already gone.
In the end, I think the Walt vs. Jesse confrontation is going to be way more important than the one between Walt and Hank.

After apparently settling their differences, the new season opened with Jesse willing to take a bullet for Walt (jumping b/t Walt and Mike). Walt didn't even offer a thanks. I predict a confrontation b/t Walt and Jesse which, naturally, Jesse will lose.

wish my above post wasn't butchered when i posted it. That said,
Walt is doing to Skyler what Sky is doing to Ted. Fear and intimidation all the way.
Overall this ep reminded me of season 1 and 2. Walt and Jessie have a problem they need to solve. They usually solve it with chemistry but this time it's physics.
It only gets better from here.(or worse:)

I don't think the tip was a sign of Walt's lingering goodness. I think perhaps he was offended by the offer of a free breakfast and the $100 was just his way of saying he doesn't need the charity. It was an ego move, just like every other Waltism. Walt is all about proving who is in charge.
Great opening. It had pretty much everything I wanted to see.

Where was Skinny Pete!!?
Anyway, I don't see Walt dying at all in a gunfight. His cancer, which is what pushed him into this in the first place will still take him down.
Still, all the speculation is fun. But as anyone who has seen the whole series up until now knows, that our speculation means shit. It's pretty damn hard to guess where this thing is going.
That break between episode eight and the final eight are gonna' be ROUGH!!

After obsessing about Gus for weeks, and then noticing the burned out camera in the meth lab, I would have expected Hank to be pouring through that laptop instantly upon finding it. I had a hard time believing it would be sitting in evidence lockup as it was.
Just wondering if anybody else thought about this as I haven't seen it mentioned.
Ridiculously good opener.

I thought the same thing regarding the laptop...my thought is the computer is password encrypted and they need a computer forensics expert to hack it, therefore necessitating checking it into evidence first so it could be accessed later in a lab. Also, I don't know if there are state regulations about examining evidence first before checking it in to prevent accusations of tampering.

i don't agree with everyone seeing the opening scene as walt going down in a 'blaze of glory.' that is very out of character for him. he is way too methodical, everything has a plan. whatever the reason for the hair, and the beard, and the fake identity, he wants someone to notice him. walter white always has a plan. always.

Walt and fam were moved to witness protection in new Hampshire, skylar tells him they can't live looking over our shoulder, or walt knows he's been found by bad guys, and thus goes back to end it once and for all.

I don't believe enough is given in that opening scene to conclude anything about a suicide mission. In fact, Walt takes some medication in the bathroom before going out to the car, and that suggests to me that he does not believe he is going to die (or else why would one continue to take cancer medication)?
What does seem relevant is that Walt has a totally different appearance and is alone on his birthday, which suggests that his fate at the moment is a life of hiding, looking over his shoulder, without any of the people around him that he initially broke bad for. When he makes small talk with the waitress and then leaves her the hundred dollar tip, I read that as indicating how thankful he is for the basic human niceties, as if innocent personal banter is now beyond his daily reach. He is thankful for being made to feel normal, even if only a short while.
That utter alienation from basic human normalcy seems to me the point of that scene; that, and cranking up the intensity of Walt's struggle to what seems like guerilla warfare. What makes the show great is it's focus on "internal stories", meaning that the changing characterization of Walt takes precedence over the turns of the plot, which is why that scene is totally satisfying to me even without knowing the particulars of what has happened or where he's going.

They are just turning Walt into a very derivative Clint Eastwood badass type character. It is very ham-handed as well, the way they are going about it.
I've enjoyed the show and one of the better ones on television but of course thats not saying much.
Many of you just get off on seeing people get shot and killed and have fantasies of being a "gangster" yourself...you just like to live vicariously through Walt...just human nature of course but you guys get way too carried away with your fantasies and think this show is incredible superb, near-perfect.
There were quite a few plot holes and inconsistencies last season. A glaring one is how Saul didn't tell Walk about the $600K that he helped the wife give away. That was totally out of character and illogical and implausible.
Anyway it's a good show and one of only three that I watch (other two being Mad Men and Game of Thrones), but it is just very very good and not god's give to episodic storytelling....get real and wake up.

It is a truly extraordinary entertainment, not just a derivative gangster flick that is a slight tick above others on TV.
It is Shakespearean drama writ modern and large, transplanting noir circumstances to the suburbs, re-mythologizing the vast empty deserts of the American west, showing radical character change in intermittent spurts. It accomplishes a level of intrigue that not many movies, shows, or even books are able to achieve.
It at once paints an entirely convincing tragic portraiture of a man, but also of a time and society, in which powerlessness is often the cost of love, and losing love the price of power.
It is weighty and intellectual, yet encompasses many engaging "fun" genres, like action, gangster, mysteries, heists, etc. It remains planted firmly in character but makes the storylines engaging and unpredictable. It gives satisfying arcs simultaneously at three levels: episodic, seasonal, and series. Moreover, it plays on the great three narrative levels of struggle: man vs man, man vs society, and ultimately, and most profoundly, man vs himself.
It provides convincing, modern portrayals of ethical dilemmas and the people who incarnate good and evil, never simplifying ethical decisions down to someone being "good" or "evil". It observes rather than comments, letting us make our own decisions about a character's actions.
It does all this with a wicked sense of ironic humor and unpretentiousness, making the journey as fun as it is memorable.
Damn I love this fucking show. Another of its like will not be along soon.

I forgot to mention in my previous analysis, that the bacon has a special meaning that is difficult to catch unless you remember the pilot episode well. In that episode, it is Walt's 50th birthday and Skyler brings him breakfast with bacon spelling out "50" on the plate. The difference however is that Skyler insists that Walt eats "veggie bacon", a symbol of the distastefulness of powerlessness, the kind of bland malaise that goes along with being subject to Skyler's brand of prudent, moral power. In the flash forward scene, Walt eats real bacon, but still is moved to spell out his birthday year. The point is there to see right away: Walt now can eat bacon, or whatever he wants, but he does it alone. There is a price to power, and he is paying it.